Catholic Bishops' Conference of India started the CBCI Commission for Healthcare in 1989. Explaining about its specific purpose, it was stated, "The Health Commission is to function as the coordinating body of all the Health related organizations in the Church in India. This Commission should be the forum for discussing the various vital issues of national importance related to health and for planning common action. Health Commission links Catholic Nurses Guild of India (CNGI), Catholic Health Association of India (CHAI), Indian Federation of Medical Guild, etc. The aim of the Commission is to inspire and guide all these organizations according to the spirit of the Catholic teaching, practice and tradition ( Report of the CBCI General Body Meeting, Pune, 1992. ).

GOALS

To ensure the best care for the sick, especially to the poor and the marginalized
To conscientize people in preventive, curative and rehabilitative methods to bring about better health for everyone
To assure health in its holistic understanding, especially in living in harmony within oneself, with fellow human beings,
           nature and above all with God.

OBJECTIVES

    To coordinate activities of the Church in health care
    To help in developing health policies, programmes and strategies
    To network with groups concerned with promotion of true health
    To promote education, research, consultations and seminars on concrete health issues and topics related to medical and
              ethical concerns
    To foster the increasingly valuable contributions by volunteers in health care
    To promote spiritual and moral formation of health professionals
    To help the sick to find value in suffering, in human and supernatural terms

As the dawn of a new era of collaborative endeavour in healthcare apostolate, CBCI has entered into an agreement with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and instituted the CBCI-IGNOU Chair on Health and Social Welfare. The first Course offered by the Chair, “HIV and Family Health Education”, was initiated in November 2001.